Carolyn Van Eeckhout

Monday, February 23, 2009

Dear friends of Carolyn,We created a CaringBridge site to keep you up to date on Carolyn Van Eeckhout. CaringBridge is a nonprofit organization that helps friends and families stay connected.You can visit Carolyn's CaringBridge site at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/carolynvane.If your e-mail program does not allow you to click on the above link, just copy and paste the address into your web browser's address (or URL) location.Please visit our CaringBridge site anytime. You can use the site to check in on Carolyn, read the journal entries and send us messages by signing our guestbook. When you register with CaringBridge and sign our guestbook, you will automatically receive e-mail notifications each time our journal is updated. Or, you can subscribe to receive these notifications even before you sign the guestbook. (Of course, you can unsubscribe from these e-mail updates at any time.)Please print and save this e-mail for future reference.CaringBridge is a free, nonprofit web service that connects family and friends to share information, love and support during a health care crisis, treatment and recovery.http://www.caringbridge.org

We will also keep the old blogsite up to date until everyone is transitioned to the new site.

Carolyn had a challenging weekend, but seems to be in better spirits today. She was struggling with nasea, which happens if she takes pain medication on an empty stomach. She also has low sodium, so they are trying to get that up by limiting her fluids and asking her to eat salty foods. She slept well last night, and ate some oatmeal this morning, so that is good. We were notified she can go to the 5th floor rehabilitation center at St. Anthonys until a spot for her is available at Craig Hospital. Carolyn is anxious to start rehabilitation, and I think it will help her mental state to have something to do and to set some goals for her to work towards. As we all know, Carolyn is very determined so I think this will be great for her as soon as she is ready. Also, our family is going to tour Craig Hospital today, meet the staff, and hopefully get a sense of when they will have an opening for her. We continue to hear what an amazing facility it is, and will feel a great reflief once she is in their very capable hands. Please pray that they will have an opening for Carolyn soon. Thank you, also, for everyone who has sent flowers. Her room smells like a rose garden, and looks beautiful. :-)

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Today Carolyn is feeling a little sleepy. Luckily she has been resting well and has taken a couple of naps so far today. We have been told that she can move to the Colorado Accute Long Term Hospital which is 2 blocks from St. Anthony's. She will begin the rehabilitation process and will likely stay there until we move her to Craig Hospital hopefully within the next week or so. That said, we have to wait until her sodium levels return to normal as they have dropped since yesterday.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

There has been some questions about posting comments. We have changed the setting so that anyone can post a comment, even if you are not a registered user. To post a comment, click the comments link at the bottom right of each post. Enter your comment and then in the 'comment as' box, you can either select 'anonymous' or 'Name/URL'. Thank you all for your notes and comments.

Jerry and girls - I just read the blog regarding Carolyn posted today. The news today was good in that she has good strength in her arms and hands.I'm sure she enjoyed eating Papa John's. Just a break from hospital food had to be a treat. We hope that she will like her new "sunny" room - seeing sunlight always makes things seem better. We continue to think of you all daily and keep you in our prayers. Our best to all of you as you face whatever lies ahead. Romelle and Claire

Jerry and girls - I just read the blog regarding Carolyn posted today. The news today was good in that she has good strength in her arms and hands.I'm sure she enjoyed eating Papa John's. Just a break from hospital food had to be a treat. We hope that she will like her new "sunny" room - seeing sunlight always makes things seem better. We continue to think of you all daily and keep you in our prayers. Our best to all of you as you face whatever lies ahead. Romelle and Claire